The second (index finger) to fourth (ring finger) digit length ratio (2D:4D) is known to be a putative marker of prenatal exposure to the testosterone. It has been reported that fetal testosterone may be critical for development of morphological and psychological traits such as quality of the cardiovascular system, visuo-spatial ability, risk-taking behavior and behavioral masculinity. Testosterone-driven attributes are associated with success in male-to- male physical competition, which may be proxied by ability in sports. Many studies have found that 2D:4D is sexually dimorphic and low (male-typical) 2D:4D ratio is associated with athletic performance. This study aims to investigate possible associations of performance in sport with 2D:4D ratio, personality characteristics (Big Five model), willing to take risks and training habits, in a sample of 57 top and 57 recreational snowboard racers. We did not find any associations between 2D:4D ratio and sport performance, no significant differences were found in 2D:4D ratio between samples. We found negative associations between agreeableness and sport performance; individuals with low agreeableness achieved higher results in the real competition of freestyle snowboarding. Low agreeableness used to be associated with aggressiveness, emulation and...

Executive compensation and its issues are a very sensitive subject, to be taken with apinch of salt, but it is above all a fascinating subject, which deserves a more globalunderstanding from people. Our study thus aims to determine to what extent executivecompensation and its structure, which may seem complex at first glance, play a role inthe risk aversion of executives. Our study demonstrates that there are more predominantexternal factors than compensation that influence an executive's risk aversion.Previous literature contains and exposes a large theoretical framework in our researcharea about risk aversion, and some factors that could have consequences on it. However,it has never been estimated and conducted through the interviews of people that candescribe the phenomena they have to deal with on a daily basis: executives andCompensation & Benefits Specialists. The emphasis on the practical point of view theycould provide was a key point of our approach.This thesis was directed with a qualitative study to understand perception and explainingfactors on the value of risk aversion by top managers. The semi-interviews completedgave data from various points of view in terms of roles in the company, sector of activityor country of the firm. Established from our review of previous research, the interviewguide evoked seven main themes to enable us to answer our research question.Literature search permitted us to highlight how risk aversion could be seen as a parameterthat needed leverage from the principal, rooting on the agency theory and its solution,with the optimal contract. We identified factors that could impact the risk aversion ofmanagers on top of the executive compensation. These four factors: innovation,information sharing, temporality and external factors went under analysis, linkingprevious studies and our data to explain, evaluate and understand how they couldinfluence risk aversion.Our study brings a real added value to the previous research. Indeed, on the theoreticallevel, our study allows us to know that it is not compensation that has the most prominentleverage effect on the risk aversion of executives. Beyond this theoretical benefit that thisresearch brings, it also brings a practical benefit since it will allow the managers of listedcompanies to better understand the stakes of a compensation structure, in particular thatof risk aversion. It provides companies with the keys to conceptualizing a compensationstructure in accordance with their culture and long-term objectives.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Aim: The goals of the current studies were to (a) create a measure of affective traits that can assess both the discrete and the underlying dimensions of affective traits and (b) examine the reliability and validity of the scale in two independent samples. Participants: Participants were undergraduate students at a large, public US mid-western university (Study 1 N = 616; Study 2 N = 510). The mean age for Study 1 was 21.10 (SD = 5.05) and 21.02 for Study 2 (SD = 4.96). Design: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine internal factor structure of the scale. A series of correlational, reliability, and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity of the new scale. Findings: Activation-Valence Affective Traits Survey (AVATS) had good reliability and adequate construct, convergent, and discriminant validity as a measure of affective traits. Conclusions: This study introduces a new scale for measuring affective traits that offers more information on both the categorical and dimensional conceptualizations of affective traits, which also has predictive utility in relation to problem-related alcohol consumption.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Sexting, defined as the exchange of sexually explicit materials via the Internet or mobile phones, is an increasingly common risky behavior; however, little is known about why people sext. The goals of the study were to (1) review the sparse literature on sexting, (2) identify key information yet to be answered by the current literature, (3) describe how personality and social learning might influence the risk for sexting, (4) empirically examine the factor structure of the newly developed Sextpectancies Measure, and (5) empirically examine how sensation seeking and sexual arousal-related expectancies might interact to predict sexting. Participants: Participants were undergraduate students at a large, public US, mid-western university (N = 611). The mean age was 21.2 (SD = 5.4) and the sample was 77.3% female. Design: A series of correlational, reliability, and hierarchical regressions were conducted to examine relationships between sensation seeking, sexting frequency, and sexual arousal sexting expectancies. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted based on two proposed models of the Sextpectancies Measure. Findings: Sensation seeking significantly predicted sexting frequency (β = .215, p < .001). Sexual arousal sexting expectancies significantly predicted sexting frequency (β = .428, p < .001), and sexual arousal expectancies partially mediated the relationship between sensation seeking and sexting frequency, showing a significant indirect effect (β = .085, p < .001). Although the initially proposed model for the Sextpectancies Measure examining two overarching sending and receiving domains did not fit the data well, an alternative model which identified overall positive and negative expectancies, fit the model relatively well (RMSEA = .085; CFI = .926). Conclusions: This study is the first step towards understanding the sexting risk process and how specific personality traits and social learning may increase the risk for sexting. Additionally this study provides some insight into common expectancies of sexting.

Binge drinking (BD) entails excessive alcohol intake in a short time period. Despite numerous negative outcomes associated with BD and efforts to curtail it, rates remain steady. Thus, it is important to identify "who" binge drinks and "why" it occurs. Drawing from past research, I sought to replicate the link between trait narcissism and BD; moreover, I examined if overconfidence and confidence-based risk-taking assessed via the Georgia Gambling Task (GGT), explained why they did so. The results generally supported my hypotheses. As expected, narcissism related to poor GGT performance and high levels of BD; likewise, poor GGT performance related to BD. GGT performance accounted for (i.e., mediated) the narcissism-to-BD relation, but only partially, in subsequent regression analyses. In the discussion I focus on the social and clinical relevance of these findings especially for university interventions, parents, and therapists. I also discuss avenues for future research including other potential mediators.

This thesis investigates the underlying factors behind sexual risk-taking and non-risk-taking behavior with regard to Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) among adolescents in Lusaka, Zambia. The Qualitative Approach was used for data collection and analysis and using the theory of Social Construction, the author explains how different contexts and aspects in the Zambian Society, that is Traditional, Socio-economic, Political, etc., influence the sexuality or sexual behavior of young people in Zambia. Hermeneutics was used to interpret the meanings in the texts/transcripts acquired through data collection and from the author’s knowledge and understanding of the Zambian historical and cultural contexts within which the participants of the research were constructed. Max Weber’s Ideal Type concept was also used to explain that each young individual’s sexual behavior is uniquely constructed by societal aspects. It explains how that the discourses of these different aspects of society impact on young people individually causing them to be either Sexually Risk-taking or Non Sexually Risk-taking. Either tendency depends on whether the societal aspect that has most the dominating influence on a given individual's life is a Power factor (causing them to rationally think their way into Non Sexually Risk-taking behavior) or a Risk factor(causing them to rationally think their way into Sexually Risk-taking behavior). The author of this thesis introduces a new Model for Social Construction of Adolescent Sexuality with regard to Risk-taking. She uses it to explain how it is either power factors or risk factors that can have a greater impact on an individual's thinking, causing them to have either sexual risk-taking or non-sexual risk-taking behavior. The author concludes that the extent to which unsafe sex among the Zambian adolescents constitutes a product of interacting and/or main discourses in relation to mainly Traditional aspect risk factors, varies from person to person depending on the strength of given risk factors over any power factors that may be at play in an individual's life.

Drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become increasingly important in recent years. They are essential in many areas, such as crop monitoring and delivering critical medicine to hard-to-reach areas. This thesis delves into the often-overlooked aspect of failures within the multidisciplinary Human Drone Interactions (HDI) field. Specifically, it examines how these failures correlate with two dependent variables: trust and risk-taking. Despite the importance of understanding failures in HDI for its wider acceptance and integration, there is an evident gap in research on this topic, highlighting the importance of this work. Previous studies indicate that trust in emerging technologies is pivotal in their adoption. To investigate the correlations in question, a user study was conducted in which participants operated a drone within a confined space, navigating an obstacle course for a monetary reward. The experiment was divided into two trial blocks. Specific failures were simulated during one of the trial blocks, the failure trial block. The nonfailure trial block included no simulated failures. Participants were subject to both trial blocks in randomized orders. Subsequently, participants were surveyed on trust and risk aversion. Our findings revealed a statistically significant correlation between HDI failures and diminished trust. However, no discernible connection between HDI failures and risk-taking was observed. The results are interesting as they suggest that failures could cause lower trust in drones. / Drönare har blivit allt mer framträdande under de senaste åren. De är väsentliga inom flertalet områden, bland annat inom övervakning av jordbruksfält och medicinleveranser till svåråtkomliga platser. Detta examensarbete behandlar ämnet misslyckanden inom det tvärvetenskapliga området människodrönarinteraktioner. I detta examensarbete undersöks om misslyckanden inom människodrönarinteraktioner korrelerar med tillit och risktagande. Tidigare studier indikerar att tillit för nya tekniker kan vara avgörande för deras acceptans. För att undersöka misslyckanden inom människodrönarinteraktioner genomfördes en användarstudie där deltagarna manövrerade en drönare inom ett avgränsat utrymme, och navigerade genom en hinderbana där deltagarna kunde vinna en monetär belöning. Experimentet delades in i två provblock. Specifika misslyckanden simulerades under ett av provblocken, som var felprovblocket. Icke-felprovblocket innehöll inga simulerade fel. Deltagarna utsattes för båda provblocken i slumpmässig ordning. Därefter tillfrågades deltagarna om tillit och riskaversion i enkäter. Våra resultat visade en statistisk signifikans på korrelation mellan misslyckanden och minskat förtroende. Det observerades ingen korrelation mellan misslyckanden och risktagande. Resultaten är intressanta eftersom de antyder att misslyckanden kan orsaka lägre förtroende för drönare.

Background. In real life humans have been proven to be affected in different ways by music. In sports, music can be shown to be useful for better performance. Taking this into thought while playing video games could help players perform better as well as in real life. Objectives. This thesis aims to investigate whether music with varying tempos can influence individuals to take more risks during video game play, with the objective of improving their overall performance. Methods. Methods used were implementation, a game test, and also a questionnaire. The game engine Unity was used to create the game "Tempo Runner" where performance and risk-taking behavior were being tracked. The questionnaire was focused on questions about risk-taking behavior. Results. Even though the results were not pointing to successful research, they did reveal a promising result for improving performance through the use of music in some ways. Taking a closer look at this topic would be beneficial for future research. On the other hand, making people take more risks through music did not show any success at all. Conclusions. Additional research is essential to definitively establish the positive effects of incorporating changing music tempos into games for performance enhancement. A critical aspect of future investigations should involve recruiting a larger and more diverse pool of participants compared to the current study. This study involved a limited sample size of 19 participants. A larger sample, ideally around 100 individuals, would provide a more robust basis for determining the impact of changing music tempos on both performance and risk-taking.

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